Sunday, November 06, 2016

Off To The Movies... #1. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

"What makes movies magical is not that incredible things happen in them. Incredible things happen in real life.

No, what makes movies magical is they end right after the incredible thing happens."

~Matteson Perry

When I lived in the Bay Area, I liked to grab my camera and visit the locations of where movies, set in the area, were filmed. It was fun to feel like I was kinda stepping into the worlds of the characters I loved to watch on film. I did a few posts around those photo jaunt adventures, but I didn't really have a specific name for that series, so I am starting over with that project and it's official name will be Off To The Movies.

I am starting my new series off with one of my very favorite movies, Raiders Of The Lost Ark. While only a small part of the movie was shot in Stockton, a simple cameo if you will, did feature one of the most beautiful buildings in town, Faye Spanos Concert Hall, on the grounds of the University of the Pacific, was used as the outside of the college Dr. Indiana Jones taught at! And if you pay close attention to that scene, and the one where he leaves to begin his adventure, you will see he flies out of what I think might be the Oakland Airport, and right over of the Golden Gate Bridge! So, one could maybe deduce that Indiana Jones was from my new hometown, Stockton! LOL.

While doing some research into that film, I found out that Spanos Concert Hall was also featured in the Robin Williams film, Flubber! It's such a pretty building, I can see why film makers would feature it. It's in California, but it kind of reminds me of the some of the buildings on the campases of Harvard and Princeton! Making it economical, and yet versatile to setting a tone. So it sets a certain vibe, and filming the buildings on the campus during certain times of the year, like autumn, gives it an especially warm and beautiful feel!

I began photographing movie locations because of how many films had been set in San Francisco. Foul Play. Basic Instinct. Vertigo. And many, many others! So, I thought that our move to the Central Valley was going to make that endeavor really difficult, but to my delight I found that there have been many films shot right here in the Stockton, and the small towns nearby! Among them Cool Hand Luke, American Graffiti, and The Candidate! Recently, when I was visiting El Dorado County, I picked up a visitor's guide, which detailed over 20 different filming locations as well, so I think it's going to be a blast to hunt them all down with my camera!